Flowers For My Lady
by The Soup
Summary: A doomed romance that could have been, which sadly wasn't. [KairixMarluxia]


I.

**SHE PROBABLY SHOULDN'T** have been at the beach at sunset, but Kairi wasn't afraid. As the sky bled crimson, she smiled. She was alone and she was in her own world, sitting by the sea. Her nimble-quick fingers fluttered with the needle and thread of her project as she speared the black thread through the eye of the needle.

Kairi hummed a little song to herself, wriggling her toes in the sand. She adjusted the handful of seashells in her hand and set them in the canopy of her purple skirt over her lap. The Thallassa shells clatter-clinked as she strung them together to make a charm that would bring her Sora back to her. She could still remember him now, could still see his layered, feathered chocolate hair and brimming aqua eyes. She could still hear his bubbly and bouncy voice, could still feel the warmth of his smile on her skin.

She shivered, all fluttery with her memories.

That wasn't all that she felt, though. Someone else was there. Watching her. She tried to ignore it. It was all she could do about it.

Kairi ignored her suspicions and continued to craft herself a lucky trinket. She poked her needle thorough a small hole, trying to make it fit. The hole was too small. Her needle, deciding it was blood thirsty, went straight for her finger, pricking her deep.

"Ouch!" She gasped. She pulled her finger away, dropping the needle to the sand, and inspected her finger. Her eyes sparkled with a twinge of pain. Her lip trembled. She watched the blood turn into a tiny bead of red, watched it trickle down her finger. She gasped and shoved her finger into her mouth to suckle the pain away.

"Oh, that's just so cute… I can barely stop myself from hugging you."

A voice. Not Sora's. Not Riku's. Or Tidus' or Wakka's, or anybody she knew for that matter! Who was it? She jumped, finger still in her mouth. She looked left, right. No one was on the beach. Only one place it could have came from.

The ocean. Out in the water.

Bravely, she looked ahead. She saw him, but she didn't know him. Her eyes widened to the innocence of a doe, watching her final moments of life blinded by the lights of an incoming car.

Kairi didn't know him. She had never seen a man with delicately ambiguously-colored eyes and fluffy, layered hair a soft tint of magenta. There he was, smiling benevolently. She decided he was fairly angelic, almost otherworldly, as the blazing painted sun cast a magnificent silhouette around him. He was beautiful; she would give him that.

She pulled the finger from her mouth. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry, dear," the man of mystery said, softly. He walked over to her. The orange and pink, lazy waves sloshed around his steps, soaking his coat. His warm and mysterious smile never faltered, and he didn't flinch as his coat got soaked all the way up to the waist. "Do not be afraid. I will not hurt you."

"Who are you?" she asked, not really feeling threatened, but not really comfortable. He was making her feel strange, making feel things she never knew.

The man smiled, finally setting foot on land. He pushed his hair off his neck with a flick of his wrist, and said, "Consider me a friend, and I'll tell you my name."

Kairi looked at her finger for a distraction. It was still bleeding, and it had her worried. What if she needed a tetanus shot? Ooh! She hated the doctor's office! No no no! Her lower lip pouted as she thought about the stranger's words.

When she looked up again, as the blood rolled down, he was crouching near her face. Up close he gave off the aroma of fresh roses. Up close he smelled like a god and he looked like one, too. His face was young and beautiful, with almond-shaped eyes, long eyelashes, thin-smiled lips, a perfect nose and perfect chin. Kairi couldn't help but find this man strange and unreal, and alarmingly intriguing.

Up close his ambiguous-colored eyes were a perfectly blended swirl of red, maroon, and hazled-brown, with soft twinkles from the inner darkness. His smile was even more enchanting up close, and Kairi found herself breathless with a nearing attack of heart trauma. Her breaths were short and startled. It seemed that the man knew, but chose to ignore it.

He smiled mysteriously. "Let me see your finger."

Kairi wordlessly turned it to him.

With a black-gloved finger the man of mystery gingerly wiped away the red rivulet. Closing his eyes, he pressed her finger softly to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss. Kairi swore his lips were heated velvet, so soft and delicate. They were magical. She found herself wondering what it would be like if she were to kiss those exact lips that were on her bleeding finger. Her cheeks suddenly became warm; she was blushing.

The man opened his eyes with a delicate and lovely flutter of his long lashes. Those magnificent jewels of red and brown hues made Kairi catch her breath. She felt him smile on her finger. Again she wanted to kiss and taste that smile for herself. He smiled warmly, and Kairi's insides bubbled over with hot magma rushing into her heart.

This stranger was quickly stealing her love, her heart away. He was also replacing memories of Sora with romantic fantasies featuring him on her lips, with her in his arms.

"Does it feel better? It stopped bleeding," he said. His voice was as velvety as his kiss. As warm as his presence and as deep as the good impression he was making on Kairi.

"Y-yeah… It's fine now," Kairi said. She barely managed to say it. She was still feeling shaky and uneasy with the new kind of tension building around her heart. "T-thank you…"

He smiled again. Kairi thought she would die if he did that again.

"Am I your friend now?" he asked, maroon-and-more eyes twinkling with mischievous light.

"Of course!" she said. She was so happy that that came out right. Her hot cheeks were probably giving him a different message, though.

"Well, then…" The man of magic put his hand in to the neckline of his black coat, roamed around for a bit. He pulled out the stem of a blooming red rose, the same of the many colors in his eyes. "I am Marluxia, and I have come to take you away."

Kairi's blushing burned redder. No one had ever given her a flower before, especially a rose. She tentatively took the rose and gave it a sniff, deciding that she preferred the scent of Marluxia to a true rose. "Thank you," she said, controlling her stutters. "but where are you taking me?"

"I'm sorry if this sounds clichéd, but I'm here to take you to a castle."

"Excuse me?"

"Seriously, and I am quite sure that it is hard to take it so." He cleared his throat. "It is only for a short time, I assure you. You will be home in time for supper, and you will be able to tell all your friends about it." Marluxia gave her a smile. He leaned in closer to her and whispered in her ear, "Are you coming with me, princess?" The rosy aroma was too much. Kairi was going to faint. Either from the power of the roses or the power of Marluxia all together.

She bit her lip, trying to decide. "Well, um… I'm not supposed to go with strangers…" she murmured, feeling stupid for saying such things. It didn't matter if he was a stranger or not. She wanted to go with him. She just wanted to be with him, wherever he went.

Marluxia got closer, like he was trying to share her skin, if that was even possible, and he was close to putting his head in her neck, which she wouldn't have minded. He was getting real cuddly with her, and she wasn't afraid to get real cuddly with him right back. Her neck pebbled up with goosebumps as warm breath brushed her flesh. He said, lowly, "I need your help. You are the only one who can save me from my darkness…"

She was not sure to believe that was true. She had a feeling he was only telling half of the truth, and so she took it as that. "Well," she started, thought about it, and said, "okay, as long as you're nice to me and don't do anything bad."

Marluxia chuckled close to her ear. She felt the rumble in her rib cage, reverberating within her. "I promise. Nothing bad will happen to you."

She had his promise, and she trusted it completely.

"My name's Kairi, um…" she said, trying to control her blush. "Unless you already knew that."

"I did. I love the sound of your voice," said Marluxia, lowering to a velvet whisper, almost a moan. "So cute. So innocent and… pure."

"Er, um, I…"

She would not go with him if he continued to make her melt with his every word. "Let's go," she said, her words quivering with tension and excitement. The thrill of adventure was thrumming through her. She was fighting for control over herself, over her reactions to his beautiful charm.

Marluxia's downy hair tickled her temple. He brushed his lips lightly over her cheek in an angelic touch. "That means a lot to me, Kairi."

Kairi shuddered at the thrill zapping through her. Just hearing him say her name made her want to scream in euphoria!

Marluxia got up with a graceful motion she could barely follow, and he stood, towering majestically. His cloak's billowing edge bumped her ankle in a light wind as a sea breeze blew in a chill. She shivered, this time from the cold. She missed Marluxia's warmth, and she wanted to cling to him for it.

He held out his hand to her. The simple motion was breath taking; the sun behind him was mostly gone, dipping the sky into a romantic violet glowing, illuminating his eyes to a mesmerizing pool of liquid red. His smile was welcoming and sending a message that he wanted Kairi in his arms, she felt. His long black cloak added mystery to the poetic moment, fluttering in the wind.

Wordlessly, Kairi set her palm lightly in his palm. His strong, slender fingers closed around her hand. Her heart jumped to her tonsils. She stood up, clutching her lucky charm to her chest and forgetting all about the needle still buried in the golden sand.

Kairi stood level to Marluxia. Her arms twitched; she wanted to throw herself into his arms, into his warmth. She wished he would hold her… What had come over her? Was this love? She was afraid to think so.

Marluxia kissed Kairi's hand. "Shall we take leave?"

"Sure."

Marluxia let go of her hand. He dropped it completely and flung his arm out in front of him. They watched a spiraling portal of purpled darkness spume into a glorious flare, tendrils of darkness curling into the violet sky. Kairi gasped at the sight of the crawling dark, suddenly feeling her assumptions of Marluxia painfully change.

He was part of the darkness, the same darkness Riku and Sora were always fighting to protect her and all the worlds from. Well, mostly the worlds from darkness. In fact, they never just protected her; they protected everybody.

She always wanted someone to protect her and her alone. She wanted to be the only thing to them. She didn't want to share her protector, her hero with the rest of the world or worlds.

Kairi let out a slight whimper. Marluxia looked down at her, thankful that she wasn't too short and wasn't too tall on him. She was average height, and he liked that. "Don't worry, princess." He took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "The darkness cannot harm you as long as you are with me."

Kairi swallowed a lump of worry down her throat. She had a protector, a hero that would keep her safe from everything. "A-all right…" She nodded. "I'm ready."

Marluxia nodded in agreement and together they entered the portal to the dark realm.

II.

"**WHAT WERE YOU** thinking, Marluxia!"

Marluxia cool-ly observed the spastic number Eleven go out on him, yelling and shouting about everything he did wrong. He frowned. "I have plans for that girl," he said. "She could be useful."

He noticed her dark pupils, embedded in electric blue irises, narrow. Her jaw was hard set and her neon blonde hair was brighter than usual, alive with the element of her control. She scoffed. "You went behind everybody's backs. I thought we were a team."

"Since when has it mattered much to you, Larxene?"

"It hasn't. I am just feeling cheated of your leadership," she said, dismissively. She crossed her arms on her chest. "What are we going to do with her? We already have Namine, and she's doing just fine without Kairi!"

Marluxia rolled his eyes. "Do you think I don't know that? I am the leader of this whole scheme, and here you are trying to belittle my plans! How dare you!"

Larxene jolted and went silent for a bit. Marluxia had a feeling she was thinking about her precarious situation.

"All right, all right." Larxene sighed. "We'll work her into the plan. But don't think I'll play baby-sitter to that little brat!"

"Don't talk about her that way," he snapped. "She's perfect."

"What?" squawked Larxene. "Perfect for this plan or perfect for you?" She smirked at how silent her leader became. She had been detecting that there was no true reason for him to drag Kairi into their situation. He just proved her theory. "It's as I've thought." Laughing her head off, she waltzed away and out of the room, leaving Marluxia to wade through the waters of his mind.

Once the door shut, Marluxia let out a sigh. He muttered, "She doesn't understand… There's something about that girl. I need to know! I must find out what it is about her." He wilted. He slumped his shoulders, fingering his chin. His mind began turning gears…

What could it possibly be about that girl, that Kairi? He didn't think her appearance was all that special, but… Well, he'd be lying if he said and meant it that way. He liked how her shoulders were small and slender. They were so tiny and feminine; he went through great pains to restrain himself from kissing them. Moreover, he liked her simple, short-cropped hair the color of maple syrup that made him want to lick his lips.

She had a nice way of dressing, he thought delightfully. She favored the color purple, and had a fashion sense to balance it with ample amounts of white and yellow. He loved her cute little skirt, the way it covered her while leaving enough for the imagination…

Her expressive eyes were the most beautiful part of her, though. He couldn't get them out of his mind… They were violet, he swore, but then at times, when the light struck them right, they were indigo. They kept him guessing, and he secretly wished that his eyes could show her what he thought of her.

He admired her, for her purity, heart, trust. For things he either didn't have or didn't have completely. As a Nobody, he was not supposed to feel envy. He wasn't supposed to feel at all. Kairi changed that. She, somehow, had showed him that a Nobody could feel, but they felt incompletely.

Marluxia felt something stab him, a painful Something squirming under a rib and trying to get out. It was burning him inside, and it was hurting wonderfully. It was a pleasurable pain, indeed. Unlike anything he ever knew. The Something inside him was coming alive. It wanted out, wanted to break free. Whatever it was, Marluxia enjoyed hurting so wonderfully as he thought about Kairi and her beautiful eyes.

III.

**SHE WAS BLEEDING **again. Kairi uttered a soft curse as the needle poked lightly at her skin as she pulled it through the final hole to her creation. She didn't bend the bleeding finger as she tied off the thread to her Thallassa charm. The thread broke when she bit it with her tooth.

It was finished. Kairi held her Thallassa star-charm to the light breaking through the window to her bedroom. The smiling star was happy to be born, after all the bloody fingers and kisses to make it better from Marluxia.

Marluxia. Her cheeks flushed and her heart danced. The thought of him made her all tingly and warm, almost like he was there right next to her…

"Should I kiss it and make it better again?"

Kairi gasped, startled by his sudden appearance. The smell of roses wafted to her, a warm presence about her. "Marluxia, you need to stop scaring me like that."

"I'm working on that," he said. He came into the room that was constructed of Kairi's memories. _Her beautiful eyes see beautiful things_, he thought to himself.

The whole room, usually white with white on everything, was detailed and cozy, like a small cottage. There was carpeting that had details of swirls and flowers…

_Roses_, he noted. On the walls there was purple and green wallpaper, lined and paneled with golden roses. _Roses_, he noted again. The furniture was Victoria with puffy golden pillows with tassels and… rose charms dangling serendipitously. The bed spread on the four-poster was a deep and meandering violet… with embroidered roses…

_This isn't made from her memories, _he reasoned. _This was made from her dreams. _

Kairi was seated prettily in a padded armchair, facing a large open window that showed the spectacular view of a roamingly endless field and an endlessly blue sky. She had turned herself around to look at him gawking at her room. She giggled and smiled.

"Do you like it?" she asked. She had a feeling he would.

"Excellent taste," he said. "Absolutely remarkable!"

Her feeling was right. Marluxia was examining the details in everything so intently he didn't notice her creep from her chair to his side. He glanced down, and then he espied Kairi standing there with her hands behind her back. She was leaned forward inquiringly. She had something planned; Marluxia wanted to know what she was thinking.

Kairi lifted her finger to his lips. He was a little surprised, but he was absolutely thrilled. His eyes were open a little too widely. He was delighted, indeed!

Kairi smiled like a planning imp. "I have something for you."

He couldn't say anything and he waited for her to take her hand back. It disappeared and then she had something in it.

"Hold out your hand and close your eyes," she said.

Marluxia looked at her strangely and smoothly arched a thin eyebrow. He decided to listen to her. Facing her, he closed his eyes, imagining what it could be he was going to receive. A kiss? Oh, he was hoping. A hug? He needed one. Her undying love? It was on his Christmas list.

He felt a little weight plop into his hand.

"Okay. Now you can open them."

He did. He looked down. There was a white-yellow star in his hand, smiling at him with eyes made of blackened barnacles. The charm, made of seashells, was carefully stitched together with love, he felt it. A little braided rope on the end made it like a keychain.

"What is this?" he asked, grasping it. He watched her smile and her eyes glimmer.

"It's a Thallassa Shell charm," she explained. "Sailors made them to ensure they had a safe journey and that they would come home."

Marluxia was breathless and confused. "But where am I going?"

"Wherever life takes you," she replied. "I hope you like it."

"I do. No one has ever given me a gift before."

"Well then I'm glad I'm the first!" Her eyes were closed as she smiled so widely he thought her perfect face would wrinkle. With all that smiling, it would ruin her. He had to stop her!

He had an idea, and it would make this moment perfect for the both of them. While Kairi smiled and giggled, Marluxia leaned forward and down to her level. His hand, the one the charm was held in, lightly touched her chin and tilted it upwards. He bravely, but softly, brought his lips to hers in a heart-meltingly wonderful kiss that hurt Marluxia's insides into a boiling pulp.

Kairi stopped everything. Her eyes were wide open. Her brain had stopped, her heart could not be stopped, and her lips were on Marluxia's. Her face flamed up with a wave of blushing and her heart could have exploded within seconds. Just as she was enjoying it, just as she was finding out what had just happened, Marluxia pulled away.

His ambiguously-colored eyes brimmed with nebulous non-emotions that Kairi could not read into or feel. He was suddenly feeling a pain worse than what he was sure was love; this time, it was regret.

"I'm sorry…" He straightened his posture. Kairi was still wide-eyed with the shock of the moment. He frowned lightly. "Was that too soon?"

No verbal response.

Kairi's wide eyes glazed with unfalling tears, sparkling with emotion Marluxia's longed to share truthfully. Her lips were still slightly parted from the kiss and they remained pink, sagging, and listless. Her face scrunched up all of a sudden and she flung her self into Marluxia's chest, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"It wasn't soon enough!" She cried, tears wetting Marluxia's cloak and he didn't care.

This time Marluxia's brain stopped. He enfolded Kairi and rested his chin on her hair without thinking. "I wanted you to know, Kairi," he said.

She pulled her face away from his chest and gazed up to him with puffy-red eyes and tear-streaked cheeks. "Wha-what?"

Marluxia continued. "You saved me from darkness. I wanted you to know that." He rubbed his hands on her back to comfort her. "You can go home when you want to."

"It's been four days, and you said I would be home for supper!"

"I know, but you've done a wonderful job. I couldn't ask for anyone better but you."

Kairi never replied to that and just decided to stay in his arms. She decided that she loved him and she decided to stay in his loving warmth…. "By the way, that was my first kiss." She decided to change the subject as well.

"Well then, I'm glad I took the first!" Marluxia said, adding a warming chuckle to it.

She silent for a bit and then she spoke, "Can I have another one?"

"Absolutely."

Marluxia slid his arms off her back, to his sides. Kairi ran her hands down their length and then took both of his hands into hers as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. They pulled away, and they kissed again. Again. Again. Again, each time softly and gently. Slowly and with love. When they were done, Marluxia pulled her to his chest in another hug and kissed her behind the ear.

"This is the worst time to mention this…," he said, after taking some time for Kairi to snuggle into him.

"What, what is it?" she asked, truthfully worried that he was taking her home right then and there.

"I must leave you. I am needed at a meeting."

She pouted; he squeezed her tighter. "All right. Go do what needs to be done."

Marluxia kissed her on the head, on the neck, behind the ear, and on the lips before letting her go and stepping towards the door. "I'll come back sometime."

"Promise?"

He held up his lucky charm and gave it a kiss and a squeeze. "I do," he said. He closed the door, and suddenly she felt lonely and distraught. She had just watched a huge part of her walk out the door. All ready she missed him and all ready she wanted to cry.

With a depressed sigh she went to bed. She left her window open, watching the sky being painted red by the yoke of the sun dripping below the horizon. Her room glowed bright with the red light glinting off all the gold, showing how all the roses had grown more prominent ever since Marluxia kissed her.

She threw herself onto the bed and hugged a huge pillow to her chest. She curled her legs under her, the pillow cold to her skin. She missed Marluxia's warmth, wishing he was holding her now. Thinking about Marluxia and his velvety warm kisses, she drifted to sleep.

IV.

**KAIRI WOKE TO** the smell of roses, to the warmth of her special somebody. Her heart rate ran fast and she opened her eyes with a start.

"Marluxia, you're –" She saw nothing. She felt nothing. "Marluxia?" The words hung emptily in the air. She felt the emptiness of her hope fading. She didn't smile. She could not remember a time when she did with anyone…

Anybody else.

Was there anybody else? Her brain felt fuzzy. She felt like she was forgetting something, and she was, but what was it? She could not bring herself to remember. All she had was Marluxia, and she was happy that he was all there was. She sat up, finding that someone had covered her in a fleece quilt with stars and moons sewn on to it. She felt a smile brace her lips.

A smile for Marluxia.

Kairi decided that she would get up and wait for him. She uncovered herself and hung her feet over the edge of the bed.

Roses. They were fresh and they were in the room.

Everytime she caught the scent of roses she thought of the first time she saw Marluxia, in all his beauty and all his mystery. She felt it; it was love at first sight. She had always dreamed that she would fall in love at first sight, ever since she was a child.

She had. She had also fallen in love with a hero.

Her eyes wondered from the floor to her bed stand. Her eyes were pried open from the sleep to immediate awe. "Oh wow!"

There, on the bed stand, was a purple vase of fresh-cut blooming roses. A silent tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped it away with her finger, having glimpsed something hidden in the forest of leaves and stems in the rose bouquet. A little purple box, with white trimming and a yellow bow and ribbon. She reached into the forest. Her fingers touched the silk of the gift box and she pulled it out. She laid it in her lap and took care unwrapping it.

First the bow was pulled loose. Then the paper was ripped off. The lid was removed, and Kairi fell in love with Marluxia's gift: a golden ring with a pink rose bud in the center and a very small but very shiny ruby.

She plucked it from its velvet case with enthusiasm, gasping and cooing at the beauty of the simple gift. She put it on her ring finger on her left hand, looking at it proudly, tilting her wrist towards the morning light at her window to catch sunshine in her stone.

The door crashed open and slammed shut. She jolted, afraid to find who it was. Seeing it was Marluxia, she threw her arms around his neck, crying out in joy. He swung her around, holding her so tightly she swore he would never let her go. When he did let go, she was pepped up wide-awake.

"Marlu –!"

"Shh!" Marluxia put a hand over her mouth. "Don't let them hear you!" His usually calmed eyes were distressed and worried. "I'm sorry, Kairi, but I need to take you home." He caressed her cheek, tucked back a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's too dangerous to have you here, protecting my light," he said in a hush-hush

Kairi's joy shattered. She touched Marluxia's hand with her own, rubbing her thumb on his wrist. She said, "It's okay. Everything will be all right."

"No, it cannot be made all right. I have to get you out of here," he said. "Now."

She nodded. "I understand," she said, when really she didn't, nuzzling her cheek in his palm. "And I want you to know that I will always protect your light, Marluxia because… I love you."

Marluxia's chest constricted sharply. He had a sharp intake of breath. "I…I wish I could tell you the same…" He kissed her deeply, lovingly on the lips. "Believe me, I do, too."

"Then say it."

"I can't. It's against my nature," he said. "Just believe that I do."

She nodded, and then she smiled. "I do…"

He kissed her again, a deep, lusty and longing kiss full of all his need and desperation for her safety. Holding her to his chest, Marluxia threw open a dark portal and together they went through darkness, holding each other and wishing they would never have to let go.

V.

**THEIR GOODBYE WAS** not without tears. Marluxia had the pain in him to cry, but his pride would not let the tears fall. Even without pride he was sure he could shed not more than one tear. For all the tears he didn't cry, Kairi cried and cried, kissed him, cried for him, and kissed him some more.

"I'll never forget you, Kairi," Marluxia said to her, letting her go. He wiped her tears away with his thumb and tried to smile. "I hope like your ring."

"I don't," cried a distressed Kairi. "I love it!"

Marluxia chuckled. "Then love it always," he said. "Love it, even when I'm gone. Love it like you love me."

Kairi could no longer hold her tears in. She could no longer let it go, and she would not let it go easily. "You can't go!" she cried, running into him and glomming onto his chest. "How can you leave when I just fell in love! How can you leave me here when I'll miss you, so much I'll die! If you leave me, I'll hate you forever."

Marluxia doubted that she would be able to hate him. She knew nothing about the planned deconstruction of Sora's memory. She knew nothing about the broken effect of the chain of memories that connected her to Sora. Because Sora was traveling deeper and deeper into Castle Oblivion, it was more dangerous to have her there. He could have found her and then all their hard work would be a waste. Marluxia had to prevent that.

He was also prevented Kairi from remembering her past love for Sora. As Sora had forgotten her, she forgot him in the same. It would be that way, unless Sora got all his former memories back.

If Sora got all his memories back, Marluxia would be forgotten, like it never happened… He didn't want to forfeit Kairi's love to a little boy with a Keyblade.

"I know none off this makes any sense. It never did…" Marluxia said into her hair, breathing in the sweetness of her personal aroma. "You have been a good girl through all this confusion, and I must thank you for all you have done."

"But I never did anything."

"You did something important for me. It may not seem that way, it may not like you have done anything for me, but in truth you saved me… From myself. The princess saved the prince, for once." Reluctantly, Marluxia pulled her off him. He kissed her pouting lips, gazing into their melancholic, violet deepness, agleam with tears. "I will never forget that," he drawled in a husky whisper. Slowly, he stepped away from her.

"Don't go! Please! I love you, Marluxia! Whatever happened to that?!" Hysterical, she ran to him, eyes blinded with searing tears. Marluxia was being devoured by the portal of purple darkness opening behind him. The tendrils grabbed him by the ankles, curled and coiled around his waist. He stepped back into the darkness, watching his only love run to him.

She cried, "Don't go! I'll never forgive! Marluxia, no!"

Marluxia was placid, his expression stone and eyes glimmer-less. He calmly accepted the fate that had befallen them. He decided that the romance had bloomed much too early, like a rose bud too early for its time. It was not that he hadn't enjoyed it. He loved the time he spent with her, if he could. He loved her, too, if that was possible.

He knew that if it was possible, he loved her. He always would.

As the darkness tightened around him, closed in around him, he told her what her what she meant to him. He declared, "You saved my light, princess. You loved me, when I cannot love back, and I wish I could love you, too. I do, Kairi. I love you, in some way…"

"No! Don't leave me! I love you, too!"

"Don't forget," he said. He closed his eyes; a single tear sparkled down his cheek. Opening his eyes for the last time she would ever see them and their red glory, Marluxia blew her a kiss. He slipped into shadow and the darkness took him, leaving the beach empty and leaving Kairi alone. Where once he stood, a full-bloomed crimson rose lay forgotten in the sand.

_Flowers for my lady…_

--Finish

;I own nothing but the words and situations I control.  
This story was written as a holiday present for my friend, Sil.  
She loved this story so much, she wanted me to post it.  
Whatever. Hope you enjoyed it.  
COMPLETE


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